Dave Caldwell misses the top-10 of NFL.com's general manager list

No general manager is perfect, but Dave Caldwell has done a marvelous job of making the Jacksonville Jaguars’ roster one of the best in the league. He’s hit on several early round additions like Jalen Ramsey, Leonard Fournette, Myles Jack and Yannick Ngakoue among notables and all should be with the team for a very long time. However, NFL.com’s Gregg Rosenthal isn’t quite ready to rank Caldwell as a top-10 general manager just yet as he’s waiting to see if the Jags’ 2017 success is a flash in the pan. For that reason, he ranked Caldwell No. 14 on his recent list of top general managers behind some puzzling names like Jerry Jones and Dave Gettleman, who hasn’t served a full year in the New York Giants’ front office.

14.) Dave Caldwell, Jaguars

Is a five-year rebuilding plan worth it if the first four years result in 15 wins combined? The answer for Caldwell will come in the next few seasons. Can the Jaguars prove their breakout 2017 campaign (which ended in an AFC title game appearance) wasn’t a fluke? Five straight seasons drafting in the top five eventually resulted in landing Jalen Ramsey and Leonard Fournette, while Caldwell used free agency brilliantly to fill out the best defense in football. Credit goes to owner Shad Khan and executive VP Tom Coughlin (brought in last year) for not blowing up the front office. The team’s undying faith in quarterback Blake Bortles, however, could still hamstring all the fine work Caldwell has done.

Simply put, the Jags lack of success early in Caldwell’s tenure doesn’t appear to completely be his fault. When looking at the players he’s hit on in the draft it looks as though coaching was the issue early more than anything. However, when the Jags got the right coach in Doug Marrone to properly mold the talent on the roster, everything started to work out.

Another tidbit Rosenthal missed is the job Caldwell has done in free agency as the argument could be made that he’s handled it better than any other general manager in the league. He’s spent big and hit on Malik Jackson and Calais Campbell, who are now two of the best pass rushers in the league. When considering teams almost never hit on pass rushers in free agency, that’s a feat that can’t be overlooked as both players have also turned out to be pro bowlers. All that in mind, Caldwell certainly should be recognized as a top-8 general manager in the NFL.

However, one thing that Rosenthal does make a good point about is Blake Bortles being Caldwell’s biggest question mark. With what looks to be a two-year window open, Bortles at some point will have to play like a player who was drafted as the No. 3 overall pick in the 2014 class. Last year was a very good start for him, but he’ll need more than one winning season and a playoff run to warrant being the first signal caller taken in his class. That said, if Bortles improves the sky is the limit for the Jags and Caldwell could easily crack the top-3 of current general managers.

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